construction essay

Defining And Exploring Project Management Construction Essay

Published: 23, March 2015

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In project management various writers have defined it differently but their meaning is the same. Harvard business school (2007) define project management as the allocation, tracking and utilization of resources to achieve a particular objective within a specified period of time. And Harvey Mayor also said, a project management as planning, organising, directing and controlling activities in addition to motivating what is usually the most expensive resource on the project. In every project there are constraints that are associated with it. And in project management the most important issue is how the project manager can deal with the triple constraints or manage the triple constraint. If a project will be successful, its all depends on how to manage the triple constraints. The triple constraints of a project are cost, scope/requirement, cost and schedule.

Scope/requirement: a scope in a project is an explanation of how the project is intended to be, it describe the size, where the project will be situated and the outcome of the project. It also gives the account of the project, how the project is going to cost and what not included in the project. It is very important for the project manager to take this constraint very serious because if the requirement is not managed well, it will affect the outcome of the project. It also gives an account of the type of skill team to be needed in the requirement. If the scope constraint is well managed, the project will be successful.

Cost: the cost constraint deals with how much involved in a cost of a project. In every project, an estimate has to be made after the scope have been defined, the cost constraint normally consist of labour, the machines to be used, the materials and other external constraints to be used. If the cost constraint is well managed, the project will complete successfully and in time.

Schedule constraints: in the schedule constraints the time that the project will use to complete during the project life. The time needed to be allocated to each activity and the number of days each activity will take. This schedule is very important to every project. If the time is will managed, then it will reduce the risk of the project and complete at the specified date. Also, if the schedule is managed it can reduce the cost of the project.

An example of a project:

A morning star preparatory school is a school situated in the capital of Ghana which is a government owned institution in the centre of the capital of Ghana ââ‚¬" Accra. The student population is about 1500 from the ages between 3 years and 14 years. From nursery to junior secondary school. The school have 150 teaching staff and non-teaching staff including one headmaster and one assistant headmaster. Recently the Ghana government introduced school feeding programme which the government want every student to be fed during the school time freely. The school management assisted by Ghana education service decided to build a school canteen for the school. The school management has assigned the contract to the project manager and his tem to build the school project. The school canteen should be able to take the student capacity of 1500. The project should be able to complete within six months and a budget of 500 million has been allocated to the project. The school canteen is to be furnished with hairs, tables, fans, plates, cups, water jugs and the entire necessary equipment audit should be able to meet the standard of school dining hall. The main objectives of the government for providing canteen for school children is to give the school children good and hygiene food to avoid transferring viral diseases to the school children. Another objective is to avoid the school children going out of the school to buy food from the open market.

2.

When we talk of the importance of managing cost of a project, it simply means the total cost that a project will cost from the initiation to the closing of projects. In every project the budget for the project has been given. In this situation of building a school canteen, the management and Ghana education service has allocated a specified amount toward the project. The project manager has to make sure he works within the budget to be able to achieve the objective of the project. The project manager must ensure that throughout the process of the project should know how to cut down the cost but to be able to achieve the project objective.

The project manager after planning and putting down all the project design must ensure it is within the client or the management satisfaction to avoid waste of resources. The project manager must also ensure that throughout the project target of the management should be met. It must also ensure the materials are not wasted by the project team members. It must also ensure that the purchase of the materials is bought on time to avoid inflation. It has to consider the project team to speed up work to avoid delay on the work. The delay will be additional cost to the project. If the cost of the project is well managed, it can give room for another project to come. In the example project above of building a school canteen, the budget has been allocated already, and if the cost involved is managed well it can give room for another project. In the acquiring of the land for the school canteen, the project manager must see to it that the environment will be conducive enough to build up the canteen to avoid wasting money. The project manager must ensure that the team members are skilled enough to be able to deliver the project at the given specified time so that the budget will not be affected. In considering the furnishing of the canteen by purchasing the equipment for the canteen like tables, chairs, cups, cutlery, fridges and other necessary equipment the contract should be given early to supply it at when and the time to be needed to avoid pricing going up. If the project cost is managed well, the project manager and its team will have enough profit and the school management will in future give them more contracts.

If the project manager manages the cost in building the school canteen well, it let the school management to have confident in him to contract him for any future project. If cost is managed well in the building of the school canteen, it will help forecast a future project and also plan any budget for a project. The building of a school canteen has a project life cycle, from the project start, planning, execution of a project to the end of a project. Throughout the life cycle, if the cost involved is well managed in each aspect of the life cycle, it will avoid wasting money and the closing of the project will be the time specified. In inflation rate in Ghana goes up regularly and if the project is done within the time given it will help reduce the cost of the materials.

3.

The requirement or the scope of a project is very essential to any project because that entails the nature of the project. The importance of managing requirement of any project consists of the main activities of a project life cycle. In an example given above of building the school canteen for (1500) one thousand five hundred children, if the requirement is well managed it is going to help to deliver the project on time to meet its objective.

The scope/requirement of building s school canteen will cover the project objectives, deliverables milestone, technical requirement, limit exclusions, reviews with management and Ghana education meeting the standard of the project. Before the start of the project, the management will explain or willl agree upon the objectives of the school canteen up to the standard they want. It is important for the project manager to work within the objectives. In the project definition has to be understand by the project manager and its team to be able to manage well without wasting resources in the first instance, building the school canteen, the various resources that will be needed has known and work within it. if all the necessary questions of what should be done and what time the project need to complete and the style the project need to be. All these need to take into consideration before the start of the project. If the objective is well managed, it will cut down cost and deliver at the specified time and date.

The project deliverable is another aspect where if it is managed well, it helps the project to be successful. It is important to consider the stages in which the project is expected to be. For the school canteen to be started, the project manager need to know the real specification, if he is going to use any technical men like carpenters, electricians or painters it should be known and each specific duration that will take with the life of the project. If all those are well managed it will help to finish the project early to avoid increase in prices of materials use. It also gives the project manager and its team to work within the time given them. And also resources allocated to them must be use well. During the execution of the canteen, all the necessary facilities are put in place like utility service, health and safety equipment, fire extinguishers should be managed and included in the plan.

In the requirement, the project exclusions must be well defined. The exclusion will let the project manager and its team members manage well will help throughout the project life cycle. In the building of 1500 school canteen for 1500 school children, all the necessary equipment should be embodied and the limit of resources should be well managed. Before the start of the project, the school management and the Ghana education service has to state what should be included or expected at the end of the project. Base on their need, then the project manager and its team members will see to manage their resources to bring the project to its desire outcome. In this situation, all the materials purchase for the entire project, it is important the project manager and its team manage it well to bring the value for money. After the completion of the building of the canteen the project manager and the school management will meet to discuss if all requirement have been met before the handing over of the project to the school management.

4.

Scheduling is another important aspect in delivering a project. In management of project, there are phases in project life cycle before the completion of a project. The conception planning, executing and the closing of a project. In the conception stage, there should be the vision or the mission or the need to go into that project. In the case of building up a school canteen, the Ghana education service had an idea of introducing a feeding programme in all the government schools to avoid stressing parent and reduce viral infection in the schools because most schools do not have proper environment of selling food. They had the idea before they decided to build a canteen in morning Star Preparatory School.

After the conception, they need to plan how the project will be delivered. How the project will intend to be and the outcome of the project. They will consider the size and the amount that will be involved and how to finance the project when the planning and all the necessary input has gathered then, they need to execute the project. This is where the project manager and his team come in to manage the schedule constraints. The schedule constraints mainly deal with how the project manager will manage his time with the available resources in place. In any project there should be a time limit for the completion of a project. In the example of building the school canteen, the time allocated is six months. If the objectives and the goals of the project is known then the project manager and its team has to divide the time to each activity and the type of skilled personnel for each activity. The project manger has look at the way the delivery of the project or the form should be taken. And each of the team members should be given a target for activity to be carried. The beginning of the project. In building up the school canteen the project manager need to have the construction team to start the foundation and to allocate a time limit for them, he should let them know how important if each of them manage their time well.

By managing their schedule well can save cost. The cost of the materials always fluctuates because of inflation. If each activity given to the project team is well managed it can help to work within the budget. And at the same time, if the schedule for activity is not well managed it can increase the cost of the project which can cause the project not to be completed. In Ghana, if the government allocate funds for a particular project and if not well managed it will be difficult for the ministry of finance to issue funds to the particular project. That is why the project manager should manage the time for each activity well to meet the specified time given. Also, it is important to manage the schedule of a project well to avoid a change in government policies. The project of building a school canteen is a government project for the school children. And in Ghana, the government can easily change their policies so if the time given for the completion of the project are well managed, it can help for a successful project. The project manager should manage the schedule or time well because in each project, any interruption can set in and it can delay the project which can cause inconvenience to the school management. If the time allocated to each activity and well monitored, it will help reduce the risk in the project. Above all, if a project is well scheduled and various activities are managed well according to the time specified, the project will be delivered and save cost and time.

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